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As we look ahead to Week 13 of the NFL season, we have a great Sunday Night Football matchup. The San Francisco 49ers will travel across the country to take on the Buffalo Bills. The Bills should be fresh after coming off a bye, and the 49ers are reeling, making this matchup after another defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.
Let’s break down this matchup and give out our 49ers @ Bills NFL picks.
It was a rough day for the San Francisco 49ers in their Week 12 matchup against the Packers. The 49ers lost on the road to the Packers 38-10 in a game where the offense could not get things going. A big reason was Brock Purdy’s inability to suit up in this one with a shoulder injury. That led to journeyman quarterback Brandon Allen getting the start. Allen wasn’t too bad, going 17-29 for 199 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. However, the interception was terrible, and it pretty much sealed the seal for the Packers to win.
This was the second week the 49ers got their star running back Christian McCaffrey back. Unfortunately, with the Packers stacking the box, McCaffrey struggled to get anything going on the ground. McCaffrey finished with just 31 yards on 11 carries. However, he caught 3 balls for 37 yards, saving his day from a fantasy football point of view. George Kittle led the team in receiving yards after missing Week 11 with a hamstring injury. Kittle looked great, catching all six of his targets for 82 and the lone 49ers touchdown. The person who disappointed me the most was WR Deebo Samuel.
Samuel had just 1 catch on the day for 21 yards on 4 targets. It had crossed my mind that with Brock Purdy being out, they would manufacture touches for Deebo out of the backfield, and that just was not the case in the loss. The defense for the 49ers struggled to stop the Packers offense all day in this one too. That made for an awful game for the 49ers in the cold at Lambeau Field.
The Bills come into this week fresh off a bye in Week 12. They have a lead in the AFC East by four games in the loss column over the Miami Dolphins. The Bills have been playing playoff-caliber football all season, led by their signal caller, Josh Allen. Allen could be the favorite for the MVP race this season, and he looks to build on that resume against the 49ers this week.
The last game we saw the Bills play was in Week 11, where they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 30-21. The Bills defense was great in that one, intercepting Patrick Mahomes twice while holding him to under 200 yards passing. That has been a bit of a calling card for this Bills team all season. The Bills have allowed the 13-fewest yards through the air from opposing quarterbacks this season. They also rank fourth in the league with 13 interceptions.
It’s hard to preview this game with the uncertainties around Brock Purdy and whether he will play on Sunday. If Purdy suits up, the 49ers have a chance to win the game, which they desperately need. San Francisco sits with a 5-6 record, but luckily for them, nobody has run away with the NFC West, as they sit just one game back in the loss column. It isn’t exactly a must-win for the 49ers, but it is very close to being one.
With us not knowing if Brock Purdy will play in this one, we will stay away from the 49ers with our pick. Instead, we are looking at running back James Cook. Cook is tied for the fourth most rushing touchdowns by running backs in the NFL this season. The Bills have increased his red zone work this season after not seeing much of it last year. To put the cherry on top, the 49ers have allowed the third-most rushing touchdowns to opposing running backs this season.
With all that said, our 49ers @ Bills NFL pick will be on James Cook to score at least one touchdown at any point in the game.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.